Eggplant, Yay or Nay?

When I knew I was going to be making this dish, I posed a question to my Facebook fans. (There are over 18,000 of you, so that's a lot of feedback!) I asked "Eggplant, Yay or Nay?" And most of you, I would say over 75% agreed with my family and said "Yay"!!

Now yes, many of you said you love it fried, as an appetizer or a whole meal, and I can't argue with you. That's one of our favorite ways to eat it too. But I am on a mission to find even more ways for us to eat it. It's kind of something I don't think of a whole lot, and I need to change that. We love the flavor, and so I was really excited when I came across this in All You magazine back before the holidays.

Do you try to use more whole what pasta? If not, I would encourage you to try it. I'm not saying totally swap out all the "regular" pasta in your diet, but for certain dishes, the nutty flavor of the whole wheat variety really lends itself well to the flavor of the sauce. And this is the perfect example of that. The richness of the sauce, and eggplant are only highlighted by the whole wheat penne. In fact, I can honestly say I don't think it would taste as delicious with ordinary pasta. Eggplant is such an earthy veggie, and that matches so well with the earthiness of the pasta.

Oh, and did I mention this entire sauce is cooked in the slow cooker? Yep. The only thing you have to do is boil water when supper time rolls around. (Okay, technically, you're supposed to stir it a couple times during cooking, but if you don't, I will never know!)

If you are an eggplant fan, and looking for more ways to enjoy it, this is just the ticket. If you aren't quite sure about eggplant yet, why not give it another try, this time with something you know you like, pasta and tomato sauce??!! Either way, this is definitely a winner that will become an instant favorite.

Whole Wheat Penne with Eggplant Tomato Sauce 
1 lb. whole wheat penne
2 TBS butter, diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 rib celery, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
8 oz. button mushrooms, chopped
1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes
2 TBS dried basil
1 TBS dried parsley, extra for garnish
Salt and Pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Spray Crock Pot with cooking spray. Combine butter, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, eggplant and mushrooms in slow cooker. Stir to combine. Add tomatoes. Stir well. Cover and cook on LOW 6 hours, stirring a few times during cooking. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain well. Top with eggplant sauce and garnish with extra parsley and cheese.

Shared on The Country Cook Jan. 17, 2014

Eggplant on Very Good Recipes